Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Dallas-based worship artist Cody Carnes states that the aim of his latest release is to declare the hope of Jesus into hopeless situations and to communicate the fact that Jesus' death on the cross put death and darkness in its place. This mission is more or less fulfilled in the album's opener "Resurrection Blood" - a swampy blues stomp that morphs ingeniously into a neat dance pop tune midway through - and other rousing tracks like the anthemic "Banner" and the U2-like single "The Cross Has The Final Word" all help press home the overriding theme of victory in Christ. For the most part, Carnes keeps things varied and the musical backdrop to each track plays towards his strengths as a powerful and distinctive vocalist. For instance, an inventive electronica adaptation of Psalm 42 "Til The End Of Time" (featuring a cameo from Mrs Carnes, fellow worship artist Kari Jobe) sits comfortably next to more full band numbers whilst occasional acoustic guitar-led offerings such as "Hold It All" add further diversity to proceedings. Occasionally, the album strays into bog standard modern worship territory with the likes of "Wait Here" possessing the plodding Coldplay sound that has been overused of late but there is more than enough originality found elsewhere to make up for that. A live version of "The Cross Has The Final Word" adds the icing on the cake to this accomplished release.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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